Myth Debunked – Does Brushing Make Your Hair Grow?

Traditional beauty wisdom advises that 100 brush strokes each night will make your hair look shinier and healthier. On the other hand, many beauty bloggers eschew hair brushing, claiming that brushes cause breakage. So which is true: does brushing hair make hair grow healthy or does it damage your hair? Keep reading to find out!

Does Brushing Hair Make It Grow Faster?

You’ve probably heard that brushing your hair will help distribute natural oils from your scalp down the hair shaft. This is true! Our scalps produce sebum, or oil, to keep the scalp and hair moisturized. By brushing hair with a boar-bristle brush, you ensure that natural oils are distributed along your strands. Additionally, brushing your hair stimulates blood flow to the scalp, which helps bring more nutrients to follicles to promote hair growth.

But does brushing hair make it grow faster? Sadly, there’s no quick fix for growing hair more quickly.

At maximum, hair grows ¼-inch to ½-inch per month.

The key to growing longer hair, however, is keeping hair healthy so that it doesn’t break off. Brushing your hair regularly with a boar-bristle brush moisturizes strands, making them less prone to breakage, and thus will help hair to grow longer.

Will Too Much Brushing Damage Hair?

Unfortunately, brushing your hair too much can damage your hair and prevent it from growing long. Brushing your hair can cause friction that leads to cuticle damage. As your hairbrush passes over your hair, the bristles put pressure on your hair, resulting in breakage. Too much brushing is especially bad for long hair. As hair grows, the ends become drier and more prone to split ends and damage.

To minimize breakage, start at the ends of the strands and gently work your way up. Brushing from the scalp to the ends can cause small tangles to turn into huge knots. Try to keep brushing to a minimum, usually no more than once a day. Most importantly: always be gentle!

How to Minimize Breakage in Order to Grow Longer Hair

Brushing your hair gently once a day isn’t the only way to minimize breakage to help it grow longer. Curious about other ways to keep hair healthy and growing to great lengths? Keep reading!

1. Be smart about shampoo
While washing your hair removes dirt and product build-up, shampoo can also strip hair of its natural oils, which protect your strands and keep them hydrated.

Aim to shampoo your hair 3-4 times per week, and always use a high-quality shampoo like Viviscal Gorgeous Growth Densifying Shampoo.

2. Never skimp on conditioner
Any time you wash your hair, you should use a conditioner. Conditioner is designed to hydrate and nourish hair, which will help prevent breakage. Try Viviscal Gorgeous Growth Densifying Conditioner. Once per week, apply a deep conditioning mask to add extra moisture to long hair. Try one of these recipes for DIY deep conditioning masks.

3. Don’t wear the same hairstyle every day
Wearing your hair in the exact same sleek ponytail or tight braids everyday puts too much pressure on the same parts of your scalp and sections of hair strands, leading to damage. Switch up your hairstyles and rotate your pony placement to avoid breakage.

4. Change your pillowcases
Sleeping with a cotton pillowcase results in too much friction as you toss and turn at night. This friction leads to dryness, tangles, and eventually breakage. Invest in a pillowcase in a slipperier fabric (think silk or satin) for smoother, healthier hair with less breakage.

5. Don’t wrap wet hair up in a towel
If you wrap your hair up in a towel when you get out of the shower, you may be causing unnecessary damage to your strands. The fibers of cotton towels rough up the hair cuticle. Plus, the weight of the towel puts too much pressure on hair strands. The result? Breakage. Hair is at its most fragile and vulnerable when it’s wet, which makes this habit especially harmful. Instead of using a towel, pat hair dry with an old, soft t-shirt.

6. Try a hair-boosting supplement
In order to grow thicker, healthier hair, your body requires many nutrients, some of which may be missing from your diet. To make sure that you’re getting the proper vitamins to promote existing hair growth, take a supplement like Viviscal. The Viviscal supplement is formulated with biotin, iron, vitamin C, and other hair-boosting nutrients to help promote the growth of healthy hair from within.*

Do you want to grow healthier, longer hair? How often do you brush your hair? Let us know in the comments!